Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-08-19

his bowels were protruding lie called in
cessantly for water, and as he could not he
attended TO he finally pulled out his revolv-
er and shot himself through the head One
little boy, the son Of the Methodist minister
at Abingdon, Frank Snadecker, about II
years, was found on the bosom Of his dead
mother. His left leg hung by the skin, his
right arm was broken and one eye was put
out. He never uttered groan. They
pulled him out and tried TO give him a
drink Of brandy He refused to take it
and said, "Give me water
There was one incident Of the accident
which stood out more horrible than all of
the horrible scenes. In the second coach
was a man, his wife and little child His
name could not be learned, but it is said he
got on at Peoria When the accident oc-
Cured the entire family Of three was
caught and held down by broken wood
work Finally when relief came the man
turned to the friendly hands and feebly
said Take out my wife first. I'm afraid
the child is dead, so they carried out the
mother, and as IA broken seat was taken off
her crushed breast, the blood which welled
from her lips told how badly she was hurt.
They carried the child, fair-haired, blue
eyed girl Of three, and laid her in the corn
Then they went back for the father and
brought him out. Both his legs were brok-
en- but he crawled through the corn to the
side of his wife and feeling her loved fea-
lures in the darkness pressed some brandy
to her lips and asked her how she felt. A
feeble groan was the only answer and the
next instant She died. The man felt the
forms of his dead wife and child and cried
out, my God, there is nothing more for
me to live for now and taking a pistol
out Of his pocket pulled the trigger The
bullet went through his brain and the three
dead bodies lay side by side in Chatsworth
waiting TO be identified
a noble girl named Ganny Brebner of
Pennington, Ill.,. was one of the notable
heroines Of the wreck. She went through
the disaster unhurt, and hour after hour af
terward acted as nurse for dying victims
SO great were her services that the phvsi-
clans finally placed under her exclusive
charge two injured boys from Peoria and a
photographer from Burlington Ia They
were all badly hurt, and if they recover
eventually they will owe it almost wholly
TO her ministratons. 1t was she with a
score Of others like her who redeemed con
| fidence in human nature after "A sight of
the vandals of the wreck who robbed the
dead bodies.
Cause and Results of the Di-asIer.
The curoner's inquest over the bodies Of
the dead was held in the school house at
Forrest, a village few miles west of Chats
worth The sessions began Thursday night
The railroad commissioners arrived at
| Chutswurth Friday noon and began AN in
yestigation on their own accord. Late on
| Wednesday afternoon, men were out burn
! ing the grass along the track 10 prevent
| fires starting, and the best evidence shows
that the fire built hy section hands was
within 100 rods Of the burned bridge when
| it was left, and that in all probability the
! bridge caught from this Nobody remem.
hers 10 have seen any suspicious looking
| characters about Chatsworth before the
catastrophe. Some Of the property taken
from the ladies has been returned 10 relatives
by train hands who had taken possession Of
them as IA precaution when they suspected
thieving was going ON. As for the pllfer-
ing to which many bear witness, it is laid
to the charge Of the numerous pickpockets
and crooks who had joined the excursion
for professional purposes and were aboard
when the accident happened. The theory
of the railroad people that there was an or
ganized band Of robbers who began their
work the moment the accident occurred is
not supported by the evidence
The coroncr's list. which is official, com
prses the names of ~ persons who are
known 10 have been killed and whose bod
les were identified Those wounded seri-
ously and treated number l29, and from all
sources have been obtained the names OF
100 more who were able to travel to their
homes, though cut and bruised Thi,
makes total of 35j casualties Several of
the wounded at Piper City and Chatsworth
will die and Of seven patients in the city
hall at Chatsworth, the cases Of five are
hopeless. Others who were taken To theil
homes in Peoria or elsewhere cannot sur
vivc The full extent of the terrible af
fair will probably never be known